This invention relates to an animal rearing house and more particularly, but not exclusively, a pig rearing house.
It is well established that in the rearing of animals for meat, animal growth is maximized under certain environmental conditions. Pigs in particular are extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuation and it is important when rearing pigs to keep them, if possible in conditions where the temperature of their surroundings can be controlled.
The normal way of keeping pigs in a controlled environment is to rear them in a building equipped with temperature control means. The high cost of building and the cost of controlling the environment therein makes it desirable that as many pigs as possible should be kept in a building of the smallest possible volume. The present invention has been made with this consideration in mind.
There have been many proposals for animal breeding houses having a controlled environment. The most recent such development comprises an elongate building having animal cages therein arranged in a continuous line along the length of the building, an air intake at one end of the building and an air extractor at the opposite end. With this arrangement, a single stream of air flows from one end of the building to the other. Although more successful than any other previous system it has become apparent that there are serious disadvantages. The large bulk of cages arranged to extend in parallel with the air stream actually cause an obstruction to the flow of air and consequently the majority of air, instead of flowing through the cages, is diverted through the passageways between the side walls of the building and the cages. As a result there is relatively small air flow through the center of the cases. In addition, due to the length of the house, by the time the air stream reaches the end, its temperature control effect is minimal. This results in the imprecise control of temperature and non-uniform conditions along the length and across the width of the house. Thus to effect control of temperature at the middle of the line of cages and at the downstream end of the line of cages requires a considerable throughput of air with consequent heavy energy requirements.